California lawmakers take steps to regulate ‘fracking’

In many states, it is the source of much heated debate and controversy. In California, not so much. Here, the process of “fracking,” or hydraulic fracturing – a drilling method in which chemical-laced water and sand is injected into the ground to release natural gas and oil – has been going on completely unregulated for decades.

“We don’t know how much fracking is going on in California – and we can’t know. No one is looking, tracking, regulating, monitoring or reporting on fracking in the state,” said Bill Allayaud, director of government affairs in the non-profit research organization Environmental Working Group.

But according to the organization’s a recent report, fracking is in fact widespread across the state. In at least six California counties – Kern, Los Angeles, Monterey, Sacramento, Santa Barbara and Ventura – it has been going on for decades, often without the consent or even knowledge of local residents. The exact number of fracked wells in the state is unknown, but according to the report, it “likely reaches into the thousands.” Industry documents show that by the mid-1990s, more than 600 wells had been fracked in one Kern County oil field alone. Continue Reading >>